Brown County budget takes hit

March 19, 2008|By Scott Waltman, swaltman@aberdeennews.com

A clerical mistake will take a toll on the Brown County budget this year. The mistake - not granting what's called discretionary formula to a peaking station south of Groton - means the county is out $49,740 in property taxes that could have been collected this year. Additionally, the county will pay East Hanson Township just more than $10,000 and the city of Aberdeen $34 as a result of the mistake. The county budget will be supplemented to account for those totals. Money lost by school districts - $142,301 to Groton and $3,079 to Aberdeen - will be made up next year. Then, the amount that should have been collected this year from taxpayers will be taken in next year along with the amount regularly due. Under state law, school districts are entitled to that money. Commissioners approved the abatement Tuesday. It totaled about $206,000. Discretionary formula is a tax break in which a business is put on the tax rolls 20 percent at a time over five years. The net result is two years in free property taxes. The peaking plant qualified for the automatic break, but it was accidently overlooked when the mill levy was being determined. The peaking facility - a Basin Electric substation - is considered a centrally assessed utility, said commission Chairman Mike Wiese. The county and auditor's office don't customarily deal with such utilities, and that led to the error, he said. Commissioners approved the abatement a few weeks ago before rescinding that action. They did so because they wanted to make sure the money couldn't somehow be recovered another way, perhaps through insurance, Commissioner Nancy Hansen said. Because it couldn't, the abatement was again approved Tuesday. Hansen said that while the mistake was an honest one, it's important to explain to the public what happened. Inside Spring cleanup set Page 4B